A 25-year-old former U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China. A federal judge in San Diego handed down the sentence of 200 months after Wei was convicted by a federal jury in August on six charges, including espionage. He received over $12,000 for the information he sold, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Wei, an engineer for the USS Essex, was one of two California-based sailors charged with providing sensitive military information to China. The other sailor, Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to more than two years in 2024 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and receiving a bribe.
U.S. officials have been vocal about the espionage threat posed by the Chinese government, as evidenced by recent criminal cases against Beijing intelligence operatives. Wei was recruited in 2022 via social media by an intelligence officer posing as a naval enthusiast from China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.
Despite suspicions of espionage, Wei continued to communicate with the officer through encrypted messaging apps, sending photos and videos of the USS Essex and sharing sensitive military information. He sold the officer 60 technical manuals, including those for weapons control and aircraft operations.
Wei, a petty officer second class, expressed regret in a letter to the judge before sentencing, citing “introversion and loneliness” as factors that clouded his judgment. The Navy’s website describes the USS Essex as capable of transporting and supporting a Marine Corps landing force during air and amphibious assaults.
